Mnangagwa brands opponents ‘little boys’, vows jail over planned protests
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has branded his opponents little boys who will be thrown in jail if they proceed with planned protests over last month’s election which has been described as a sham by most observers.
“We are going forward with our development programme; we will not stop our development programmes because of some little boys,” Mnangagwa warned.
“I warn anybody who may want to bring any chaos in this country, we are ready.
“Whoever shall preach hate speech will be responsible for their hate speech. Our prisons are not full.”
Mnangagwa is facing a huge backlash at home and abroad following the outcome of the disputed plebiscite held last week which declared him a winner with 52,6% votes. Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa lost with 44%.
The election was, however, marred by massive irregularities, including that the electorate, especially in rural areas was coerced to vote for Zanu-PF while ballot papers were submitted late in urban areas, the perceived opposition strongholds.
After noting all the anomalies surrounding the voting process, almost all international observers did not endorse the election. They accused the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of being biased towards Zanu-PF and Mnangagwa.
The opposition is calling for a fresh free and fair election superintendent by international observers.
Seemingly sensing fear of demonstrations from the public following a controversial election outcome, Mnangagwa has issued a stern warning to critics saying the regime is ready to arrest.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC), through its head Nevers Mumba, concluded that the election did not meet regional standards.
“The mission observed that the pre-election and voting phases of the 23-24 Aug harmonised election were peaceful and calm.
“However, the mission noted that some aspects of the harmonised elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act and SADC principles governing democratic elections,” Mumba said.
